What Is the Story About?
Furies follows three furious vigilantes, who has seen hell and more. Situations bring the three women closer together under the leadership of aunt Lin for the mission of taking down a sinister crime syndicate that controls the mean streets of 1990s Saigon, Vietnam and most importantly to shut sex trafficking.
Performances?
Van Veronica Ngo‘s Jacqueline is the star-boss here despite her not being at the focus point. The characters here are mostly thin, but Toc Tien’s charisma puts her a notch above the rest of the cast. Rima Thanh Vy, Thuan Nguyen and Song Lua are adequate with their moves and stunts for a film of this kind.
Analysis
A loose Prequel to the hit Vietnamese action bonanza ‘Furie’ (2019), Furies is as such also a stand alone film with three women assassins in the forefront. This is the first Netflix Vietnamese original and does due justice to the previous film besides being a delicacy of action and revenge. Directed, written and produced by Veronica Ngo, the star of Furie (2019), Furies also finds Ngo in a pivotal role.
Furies starts off with Bi (Dong Anh Quynh), a teenager who is shown to have a tragic and disturbing past. Having witnessed her mother’s murder at the hands of her rapist and then the destruction of her houseboat, Bi takes to the streets until she’s picked up by Jacqueline who is also called ‘Aunt Lin’ by two orphan teens Thanh and Hong.
Bi proves her mettle by fighting Thanh and eventually learns about the assault experiences of Thanh and Hong. Lin moulds the trio as a vigilante group to take down on a huge drug trafficking – sex trafficking crime syndicate and it’s boss “Mad Dog” Hai who literally runs the city. They train regularly and often makes infiltration attempts to threaten Hai’s unwavering hold on the city’s shadows.
What follows in Furies later on is pretty much like every vigilante justice action film. The only difference is here we have three women splashing and splishing blood, breaking bones and heads with ease and taking a hit like no man’s business. The action set-pieces are very cool. The kinetic effects, cooler. All the more interesting because of the retro production design and timeline the film aims for.
Much like Furie (2019), the biggest USP of Furies (2023) is it’s action choreography itself. There’s a bit more of Martial arts, faced paced kicks and stabs and all that an action junkie would love to relish. Veronica Ngo really outpours her directorial skills with ease, while also shining as an actor.
Though the writing comes across as basic and low-effort most of the times, the execution outscores it. The action blocks, staging and camera work evidently reflects the passion Ngo has for entertaining the audience. While also letting her main women kick ass and shine. The bonding between the three girls also makes for a nice watch.
In short, Furies is a one time worthy watch. Especially if you’re an action-junkie, you’d dig it. Those bike stunts, flying kicks and retro score are madly entertaining. I mean what more would you seek in an action film that’s in the lines of Raid? Delve, right in.
Music and Other Departments?
The background score and Phunam’s cinematography work in Furies is honestly, pumping. Reminiscent of fast paced revenge sagas like John Wick, Kill Bill, Atomic Blonde, Raid etc, Furies retains the adrenaline rush of Furie by creating eyegasmic thai martial arts set-pieces choreographed by Kefi Abrikh and Alice Naigeon.
Highlights?
Stunt Choreography
Cast
Pacing
Retro cinematography
Drawbacks?
Shallow Characters
Shaky Camera
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes. Mostly
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. If you’re an action-junkie, dig straight in
Furies Review by Binged Bureau
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